ROME. – The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that due to a lack of funding it is forced to reduce the scope of its aid delivery in the occupied West Bank by half.
According to UN News WFP country director for Palestine Shaun Hughes told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday: "Our funding is running out, and it means that roughly 200,000 people from today will no longer have access to essential aid."
He said increasing violence by Israeli settlers and the escalation of Israeli military operations, together with strict movement restrictions, demolitions and widespread displacement, "have undermined Palestinian livelihoods and contributed to greater food insecurity".
Almost a million people across the West Bank – more than a quarter of the population – are currently experiencing famine, he said. He added that "the figure was 11 per cent two years ago".
International aid organisations worldwide are struggling to secure funding, as the USA has led a drastic reduction in its support, while other Western countries have also reduced their donations.
Sources: UN News, Al Jazeera
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
